EQUITY MULTIPLIER Definition

Bookmark and Share

EQUITY MULTIPLIER (EM) shows the amount of assets owned by the firm for each equivalent monetary unit owner claims held by stockholders, i.e., the equity multiplier measures how many dollars of assets an institution supports with each dollar of capital. If a firm is totally financed by equity, the equity multiplier will equal 1.00, while the larger the number the more highly leveraged is the firm. EM compares assets with equity: large values indicate a large amount of debt financing relative to equity. EM, thus, measures financial leverage and represents both profit and risk measurement. EM affects a firm's profit because it has a multiplier impact on Return on Assets (ROA) to determine the firm's Return on Equity (ROE). EM is also a risk measure because it reflects how many assets can go into default before a company becomes insolvent. The EM ratio is best compared to industry averages. Formula: Total Assets / Net Worth

Learn new Accounting Terms

DILUTION is the decrease, weakening, or loss in a financial statement related item. For example, share value may be diluted through the issuance of additional common shares.

PROPORTIANATE UNIT CONCEPT is where a value or distribution is agreeing in amount, magnitude, or degree, e.g. a shareholder holding 1% outstanding shares of an entity is entitled to receive 1% of that entities declared dividend, i.e. it is in proportion.

Suggest a Term

Enter Search Term

Enter a term, then click the entry you would like to view.